Getting the HCN Online with New Staff Member, Carla Mulholland
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Carla Mulholland, Supporting Communities
You may recognise Carla Mulholland from the very successful ONSIDE Project, where she delivered digital skills training both online and in person. We’re delighted to welcome her back to Supporting Communities in a new post as Digital Inclusion Officer to the Housing Community Network!
“I’m so happy to be back at Supporting Communities. I’m really looking forward to this exciting new project,” said Carla.
“I’ve supported individuals to overcome their fears and explore a whole new online world through the Onside Project, and now I’ll be helping the HCN to use digital skills to streamline and organise their work.”
A working group of members from the Central Housing Forum have been testing an online ‘collaboration portal’, also known as the Housing Executive Online Forums, which will eventually be rolled out to other levels of the Housing Community Network.
Not to be confused with the tenant portal, where you can manage aspects of your tenancy by signing in on the Housing Executive website, the collaboration portal or ‘Online Forums’ are designed to create a simple online environment for sharing files, online chat, discussions, managing meetings and associated papers and assigning tasks or ‘to-do’ lists.
“One of the first things we’ll need to do is give it a good name,” said Carla. “This is a tool that will greatly benefit the HCN, but we need to be clear about what it is.”
The online forums will improve the network’s ability to collaborate by removing the need to email papers, minutes, and meeting invitations which individuals can quickly lose. Instead, all the forum’s documents and discussions will be stored in an organised way online where members can access them whenever needed.
“It may help to think of it as an online filing cabinet where everything is kept neatly for you,” explained Carla.
Carla will liaise closely with our Community Development Officers and the rest of the Central Housing Forum to start the process. She will then offer training and support to the rest of the Housing Community Network as more areas take advantage of the online forums.
Outside of her time spent in the digital world, Carla says she loves nature and travel, especially anywhere near the sea. Her days off are often spent with family finding new places to explore, so tell her your top spots when you meet her!
